Dubai: Schools in Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be following the new working week starting January 1, 2022, their education boards said on Tuesday.
The move comes after the UAE government announced that it will transition to a four-and-a half-day working week, with Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday forming the new weekend. All Federal government departments will move to the new weekend from January 1.
With this move, the UAE has become the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week.
The working week will start on Monday and end by Friday afternoon. The working hours for federal employees are set to be from 7.30am to 3.30pm, with 8.5 working hours per day. On Friday, employees will work for 4.5 hours.
Confirming the shift to the new working week, the Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi said it has instructed all principals of private schools to change the weekly work system starting next year.
In Dubai, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said "the private education sector in Dubai will be open in line with the recent UAE Government decision on the working week”.
“We'll be working closely with our community to ensure a smooth transition," it said in a tweet.
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